


No Good Deed

by Guacharo



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst, Canon Divergence, F/M, Gen, Identity Reveal, Magic, Marinette uses magic, They love Marinette so much, Tom and Sabine kind of know, supportive family
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-30
Updated: 2017-11-02
Packaged: 2019-01-26 20:28:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12565556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Guacharo/pseuds/Guacharo
Summary: When Marinette accidentally releases an ancient evil, things get a little complicated.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my first published work, any and all feedback is welcome from a smiley face to delete this. Some background info: at this point Marinette has been going to Master Fu and he's been teaching her things about magic which will be better explained in chapter 2. Book is different from the other books. You'll see what I mean. Enjoy!

The individual threads of Marinette’s dreams were weaving and unweaving at an alarming pace. They clashed against each other like two mighty waves, circling and drowning, pulling her away from shore and light. 

Underneath her bed, a Book, lone and silent began to force itself through the storms and electricity surrounding her. It decorated itself in golds and reds, priming its plumpness for seduction, enticement. Collecting memories and thoughts, the stories became an incantation awaiting its reciter. The thick, inky darkness of the room seemed to form shadow puppets of oily deception like poisoned frosting on cardboard cakes. 

The puppets danced and wove the threads, mining the filigree for the Book. They put away their games as a thread of thick golden light filled the room from the attic door below. Sabine frowned at the sight of the writhing girl, blankets discarded like newly formed volcanic isles, the Book and its siblings the earliest inhabitants. Waking Marinette from a nightmare was nigh impossible these days. As much as it pained Sabine, the girl would just have to fight through the horsemen of night alone. But she had been raised strong; she would fight. 

Grabbing at the shipwrecked souls on her daughter’s floor, Sabine wiped the struggle from her brow and delivered the tomes downstairs. They were probably as old as they looked. Tom raised a questioning brow at the load.

“Again?”

Sabine nodded. Tom arranged them by size on the bottommost shelf next to the ancient phone books and photo albums. 

“That’s the third time this week.”

“It’s probably those books she reads.”  
Sabine was no idiot. If anything she was a responsible parent, and sometimes responsible parents were aware of what their children read. Despite her hopes of Marinette suddenly developing a taste for Harry Potter, Sabine’s guess wasn’t too far off. 

The first time Sabine saw the inside of Marinette’s books, she was on a cleaning spree when they were left open on her daughter’s desk. Images of black cats and ingredients like dried rose petals stared up, defiant. Sabine wasted no time in skimming the rest of the books for questionable sections regarding human sacrifice, blood oaths, and raising the dead. Luckily she had found none. 

Tom in his infinite love for Halloween, was relieved at Sabine’s report and intrigued by the thoughts of his daughter studying magic. After all, it did explain the sigils he’d been finding in his apron as of late. 

“This one’s new.”

Tom held out the Book, its unspoken promises of things incredible and awe-inspiring were perpetuated by the chains Time wore embossed on the Book’s cover. 

“It better not have any midnight spells in there.”

He smiled at the memory of Marinette’s stuttered explanation for why there were suddenly thousands of ladybugs and the littered sounds of explosions coming from her room at three in the morning.  
Sabine had to swallow her worries and accepted Marinette’s frankly, crazy explanation. 

“Sabine?” A small voice twinkled from the stairway.

“Yes Tikki?”

The poor little Kwami looked worse for wear and could barely hover straight but her cheerful disposition could never be squashed by a couple of shadow thugs. 

“It’s done. Marinette is having good dreams now.”

Tom really felt for the...familiar? Tikki had never really explained what she was. Or how she came to their home. In all honesty, he came upstairs after hearing his wife’s scream during one of her cleaning sprees to find her pale and shaky pointing at the pink creature. They had just assumed she was part of the secret Marinette was keeping, or failing to. They never asked Tikki any questions other than her name and what she liked to eat. Marinette would tell them when she was ready. After all, she wasn’t a witch, she was something else. Magic user was a given, but where did she get her books from? Who was teaching her? What was she doing? Did it have to do with her repeated absences? 

Probably. The Dupain-Chengs were no idiots. 

“I’m sure. Thank you so much for helping her.”

Sabine couldn’t enter her daughter’s dreams, but the small...whatever it was could help Marinette battle the worst of it for limited spans of time. Tikki was good people and Marinette needed all the support she could get. If only she trusted her parents a bit more.

“Would you like chocolate chip or macadamia nut?”

Tom went about sifting through piles of spoons looking for a dropper.

“Chocolate chip please.”

“Coming right up.”

In the meanwhile, Sabine beckoned her over and Tom handed Tikki a clean toothpaste cap filled to the brim with cold water.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Tikki drowned her makeshift glass.

“Don’t worry, there are worse things. I’m glad I can help her in some way through them. It’s just lately they’ve been getting so big, it gets hard to cleanse all of them on my own. Marinette’s becoming stronger now, so she can help me in channeling my power.”

Sabine nodded.

Tikki appreciated how unconditional her concern and acceptance was. Her chosen was truly lucky to have the Dupain-Chengs as her parents. Ladybug would need them,and soon if Marinette’s nightmares were anything to go by. Although they still hadn’t figured out that their daughter was a superhero, there wasn’t a doubt in Tikki’s mind that they wouldn’t bat an eyelash and instead worry about Ladybug’s sweater-less state. Then they’d finally know her as a Kwami instead of some catbug fairy guardian thing.

Tikki started looking less and less haggard, and when Tom brought over the cookies,she was as good as new.

Unbeknownst to them, the Book took on a eerie green glow as it called to its mistress. Speaking to her of things great and horrible.

When Marinette opened her eyes, all dreams were gone. She stared up at the darkness of the roof, and the darkness…

The darkness stared back.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is folks, the final part of the exposition. From here on out, this show is on the road.

“Again.”

Marinette groaned and looked up Tikki, eyes wide and searching. Tikki turned away as Marinette pouted.

Traitor.

Reluctantly, she picked herself off of Master Fu’s wooden floors and widened her stance.

“Good.”

His cane swiftly came for the backs of her knees, but the agility of youth was on her side. As was its hubris. A well-aimed closed fist came for the place between her shoulder blades. Even with little force behind it, she stumbled and fell on a mat’s loose thread.

“Again.”

This time she was able to kick the cane out of his hand.

“Good. Again.”

She slowly ran through the kata. Fu gently corrected her shoulders.

“No rolling in. Breathe through it.”

Wayzz softly buzzed over to the top of her head. She wavered slightly but held her ground. 

“Excellent. Do you feel it now? Feel the stretch of each movement. Find your balance Marinette.”

She huffed and blew a strand of hair out her face. 

“Again.”

She shifted to her other foot.

“Good. Take a breather.”

Like a poorly constructed tower, she toppled. Tikki rolled over her water bottle, bemused.

“You did it so much better than the first time around!”

“My foot fell asleep the first time around.”

“Any improvement is still improvement!”

“Thanks Tikki.”

Master Fu went about setting up for the rest of their lesson, flicking droplets of water into large round pale bowls. Skipping pebbles on their surfaces,careful not to disturb the tunneling condensation. He then poured two steaming cups of tea with a flourish. Marinette took hers and loaded a spoon with granulated sugar, stirring the crystals until they became one with the substance of life. 

“Marinette I want you to lift your cup and drink.”

Confused, she did as he asked. It wasn’t as if she wasn't going drink her tea in the first place. 

She grimaced at the slightly bitter taste of leaves that had been steeped for a bit too long. Another spoonful of sugar should do it. Maybe five.

“For an old guy, your tea could still use some work.”

“Erm, that’s not the point. It didn’t burn this time.”

She shared a knowing look with Tikki. Master Fu knew of many things, except of cooking anything that didn’t require a microwave. 

“When you drink the tea, you are transferring the energy from the cup and the water into your stomach and your mind yes?”

“That’s generally how food works master.”

“I’m aware.” He chuckled.

Gently prodding a pebble over to Marinette’s side of the kneeling table, Wayzz encouraged her to pick it up.

“Today’s lesson builds on understanding balance. When you lifted that pebble, the Earth became lighter. When I light a candle, I’m casting a shadow. Magic is about change and the consequences it brings. Your responsibility as Ladybug is to maintain balance. When you lifted the pebble, when I brought it here, we removed the pebble from its nature.”

Fu continued his lecture, making Marinette’s eyes glaze over, but she understood his general meaning: actions have consequences. 

“You’re only an apprentice now, but remember that magic doesn't make life easier. If anything, life has never been harder. You have to think about your actions now. You're responsible for others now too. Every spell you cast retaliates and to hear, one must be silent. Listen to what the universe it telling you Marinette, and balance will always be attained.” 

“Okay Master.”

“I'm actually a yellow platypus.”

“Of course Master.”

It took Marinette a moment before she registered what she'd just said. 

“No! I meant- I meant of course not! You're not a p-platypus! Unless that was a spell, no it was a test, of course I’m listening Monsieur Platy-no, Master. I’m listing Master!”

Tikki and Wayzz laughed at her verbal acrobatics. They truly were something of wonder. At least she was trying.

“No worries my dear. I believe we’re done for the day.”

“Uh ah, THANK YOU MASTER IT WON’T HAPPEN AGAIN!”

Master Fu waved her off and told her to get some rest. 

Tikki quizzed her on the lecture on the way home. Tikki would be Marinette's village as long as she was needed. The heroic life wasn’t an easy one. Often times it was a lonely one. Some Ladybugs had gone on to have large families, while others had fallen at the hands of villains, sometimes Ladybugs fell to their own hands. Tikki would do whatever she could to ease Marinette’s load. Her Ladybugs’ lives were like butterflies in a sense; they didn’t last for eternity, but they were always so beautiful and brilliant.

~

Marinette sulked her way up the stairs, biceps and legs burning from Master Fu’s lesson. Her eyes drooped with the effort to keep themselves open. The stair rail made her feel like a mountain climber, going on the next journey at some unholy hour of the morning. 

When she looked at the bottommost shelf with her books on it, she didn’t scream, she didn't wonder.

She approached.

She questioned. 

She came to the wrong conclusion with an element of truth. There was no way her parents knew about her extracurricular activities, surely Sabine must’ve been clearing her room and found the poor things under her bed. They were all there, except one she hadn’t seen before-- it whispered things to her.

The Book was lucky she was tired.

The Book stretched its tendrils, and like a newborn, called for her warmth. 

Master Fu had warned her about trying new spells without supervision, but the light display was so _pretty_. 

It _sang_.

“Marinette?”

“Not now Tikki.”

“Marinette?”

The world was still to Marinette. She could feel the ebb and flow of her veins, hear the migrations of insects. Every piece of dust in the air was a technicolor rainbow. 

“Marinette! Snap out of it! Marinette!”

Every microsecond that the distance between Marinette’s hand and the Book lessened, electricity buzzed around her and everything felt right.

At first contact, the Book dispelled its secrets and flew open to a page marked with intrigue, plots to bring disaster. Like an old woman, it vibrated with information. Marinette’s lips formed the words with reverence:

“I summon thee.”

“MARINETTE NO!”

The Book’s pages rearranged themselves until the words in a language locked away to never again walk the earth freed themselves into form. Marinette’s hair flapped as a ghoulish wind howled in delight through the living room. 

It tore at the other books, knocking over picture frames.

Tikki grabbed on to Marinette’s purse for dear life.

And then silence.

The shadows came together and wound themselves into a beast the color of night. It raised a mirrored claw towards Marinette’s face, breath smelling of decomposing fruit. She held her breath, eyes wide in fright.

The creature’s eyes opened.

It withdrew, then returned with a vengeance. 

“NO!”

Light blue light surrounded the girl as Tikki strained with all of her might to keep the Shadow away.

“YOU WON’T HAVE HER!”

The Shadow surrounded the bubble of Tikki’s light, searching for a way in, but it was no use.

“GO AWAY!”

The bubble expanded and burst, chasing the Shadow, forcing it to flee. Cackles and groans filled the window frame nearby. The glass smashed and the Shadow sped through the street lamps and away from the apartment, leaving behind an exhausted Kwami and stock-still girl staring at a burn marked floor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to everyone who stopped by and took the time to leave Kudos. I especially appreciate those of you who commented. Thanks again.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fluffy Aftermath. The drama's coming, just wait for it.

There was a bang as the door swung open.

“Marinette!”

Tom pulled Marinette towards his body as if shielding her from whatever horrors there could be. He cautiously scanned the room, looking for intruders or Akumas but there were none. Noticing the glass shards on the floor, he then took a step back, still holding Marinette.

Her body quivered and tears flowed, eyes still wide. Tom rubbed small circles on her shoulders, causing her to flinch back. Arms crossed, holding herself, her breathing accelerated,heartbeat more hummingbird than human. Her knees collapsed, paper thin courage crumbled into a ball on the floor. 

“What on-”

Tom made a shushing sound. Sabine took a second to observe the pallor of Marinette’s cheeks. 

Her baby girl was crying.

Her baby girl was...crying.

“Mama?”

Sabine swooped, swift as light and knelt beside the fledgling girl, but didn’t dare touch her. 

“Yes baby?”

“Don’t be mad...Just don’t be mad okay? Promise me you won’t be mad. Mama please. M-mama...”

A sob tore through Marinette. Sabine looked helplessly at Tom who shrugged. They were in the same boat. It was then that Tikki made an appearance, blanket in tow which she draped over the hysterical girl.

A jut of the chin, a swallow.

“M-m-mama th-there’s something I gotta, I got-tta tell you M-mama.”

“Shh baby. Breathe. It’s okay.”

Marinette shook her head violently, hair stuck to the rivers of tears and drying snot.

“Mama, I’ve been keeping secrets. Ma-mama I’ve done something and I-I and I...”

Her chest heaved.

“I’ve done something Mama.”

“Did you kill someone.”

Marinette’s eyes widened even more, a feat Tom didn’t think was possible.

“NO! Mama, I’d never-”

“Good. Then we can fix it.”

Marinette wailed.

“You don’t know that Mama! I don’t know..What was..No Mama! We can’t Mama, can’t you see!”

The breath left Marinette’s body. The struggle for oxygen wreaked her resolve. She was dying. This was it. Dying. So much still left to do, she’d never told…

“Marinette. Marinette look at me.”

Tom knelt beside his wife.

“Breathe with me. It’s okay.”

They sat together, Tom counting the seconds between each breath. Each one grew steadier as time went by until some color returned to Marinette’s face.

“Papa.”

She threw herself into his arms. He cradled her gently, Sabine stroked her hair.

“Mama, Papa. There’s something I have to tell you.”

“Anything baby.”

A final breath. One final drop into the lake before a storm.

“I’m Ladybug.”

“Oh sweetie, we already knew.”

The honest truth was, no, they hadn’t known for certain. Tom had suspected it, but Sabine brushed him off. But Marinette didn’t need to know that. She needed all the support she could get right now. Sure, they’d known about the magic, but to think their bubbly little Marinette flirting with danger most nights, defying gravity with her acrobatics took a bit of a stretch. Except it made sense. All the excuses. The unexplained absences. Hell, it even explained the magic!

“W-what?”

Tom smiled reassuringly. Called it. 

“We only raised you Marinette. Can’t get much past this old mustache.”

He dotted kisses over her nose and cheeks.

“Stop it Papa, that tickles!”

Her giggles broke the spell of solemnity.

“Oh no. Tikki!”

How’d that blanket get there? Marinette scoured the floor for the Kwami. 

“Right here.”

Marinette scooped her up and held her close. Who knows how much that shadow must’ve taken out of her. Wait..THE SHADOW! What were they going to do about that Shadow!

A tiny paw rested on her cheek. Right. Cookies, she needed cookies now dammit.

“Papa can you get me a cookie please. I’ll explain later. This is Tikki by the way, she helps me transform into Ladybug. She’s a Kwami.”

Tom merely raised an eyebrow.

“...Aand I’m guessing you two know each other?”

“We’ve met.”

Sabine took the initiative and was shortly back with a warmed half-dozen of chocolate chip cookies. 

Tikki munched on them with gusto. For the first time Sabine took notice of her floor. 

Her very burnt floor next to the bookshelf. 

Pinching the bridge of her nose, she counted backwards from 10. 

“You have a lot of explaining to do young lady, but first of all, there better be a spell in those books of yours to clean this mess up.”

“How did-”

~

“That should do it.”

Sabine breathed in the smell of her hot chocolate; the brandy had been a nice touch. They must’ve made quite a group: two Kwamis, an old man in a nightcap, a frazzled looking girl, and two concerned loving parents. 

Marinette clutched her mug, absorbing the warmth and trying not to nod off. Two toothpaste caps had been cleaned for the Kwamis who chatted amicably about the merits of marshmallows.

“Thank you so much Master Fu, my floor looks brand new. Thank you for the window too.”

“No problem Sabine. Now, Marinette, what were you saying about a shadow? I couldn’t quite catch it over the phone.”

He made himself comfortable on an armchair, sipping his own drink. There was something to be said about hot chocolate, the dark liquid restoring life to the most difficult of situations. Wayzz certainly preferred it to Fu’s leaf water.

“Well...”

“Marinette was bewitched by a book.”

Trust Tikki to cut right to the heart of the matter.

“Which book was this?”

“We don’t exactly know. I don’t think I’ve ever seen this book before today, well technically yesterday.”

“I think it was a dark book, Master.”

Fu scratched his chin. Hmm.

“What makes you say that Tikki?”

“The way it called Marinette. It wanted to call her towards it. All she had to say was ‘I summon thee’ and this big, ugly Shadow appeared out of nowhere! It wanted to hurt Marinette! It had these big claws and ugly teeth. It took all my energy to banish it!”

“That certainly sounds dangerous. We’ll need to investigate further. Until then, no more unsupervised magic Marinette. Only open the books when Wayzz or I am around to help. This Shadow is no friend of ours, you’ll have to work harder than ever before if you want to have any chances of defeating it, spells like these can only be undone by the caster. Make no mistake, this Book waited for you. No one could’ve summoned the Shadow other than you; the Shadow chose you. Why? I’ll need to research. It wanted to be free. It probably sensed your growing strength and took its chances.”

Marinette gulped, but nodded firmly. She would take responsibility for the Shadow beast, she had to keep her family safe.

“She’s been having a lot of nightmares lately. I found the book under her bed.”

They turned to gape at Sabine, except Tom who already knew. Wayzz took over for his master.

“Did you feel or hear anything from the Book?”

Sabine frowned.

“Nothing at all.”

“Maybe the Book caused the nightmares and was looking for a chance to weaken her, make her susceptible to its advances. Tired is stupid after all. Sorry Marinette.”

“It’s okay.”

Tom took her empty mug and ruffled her hair. 

“So there’s a way to fix this?”

“I’m not sure Mrs. Dupain-Cheng, but if there is, we’ll find it.”

“Hear that Marinette? There’s a solution.”

“Actually I’m not-”

Sabine shot the Kwami a look that would’ve sent a lesser creature running for the hills.

“Tell us what we can do to help, and we’ll do it. We’re in this together.”

~

After a few more promises to Master Fu and jubilant explanations from Tikki, the old man and his own Kwami were out the door and into the half-light of the street. 

One by one the Dupain-Chengs changed into their nightclothes and wiped the day’s grime from their faces. Marinette took her time, Sabine would let her sleep in anyways. 

Marinette’s screams and gasps made the walls shudder as they braced themselves to watch over her turbulent slumber. Tikki whispered something into her ear. Her body fell limp, and Marinette slept a dreamless night, curtains open to let the light stream in.

Elsewhere, Chat Noir wondered why his partner never showed up for patrol.

**Author's Note:**

> So how was that?


End file.
